Outdoor Halloween Decoration: Banister Owls

Haunting Owls Sitting on Banister

Dress up your banister with DIY owls. Trace owl silhouettes onto pressure-treated plywood, then cut them out with a jigsaw. Sand the surface, then paint each owl, front and back, with flat black paint. Add eyes with two-inch washers fastened with picture nails and staple on leaf-shaped pieces of vinyl fabric to create feathered wings. Attach basic plumbing straps to each owl's back then tighten the straps around the bannister to keep your owls on All Hallow's Eve neighborhood watch.

Create Template

Place a sheet of brown kraft paper onto a flat, level surface then fold it in half. Freehand the silhouette of an owl to the size and scale you'd like using a pen or marker then cut out (Images 1 and 2). Tip: Folding the paper in half makes it easy to create a symmetrical silhouette. Flatten pattern to ensure both sides are symmetrical and you're happy with the owl's overall shape (Image 3). Note: We created both a tall and short template so there was some variation in our owls. If you'd like to do the same, create a second template with a slightly different shape.

Draw Owl Templates

Place a sheet of brown kraft paper onto a flat, level surface then fold it in half. Freehand the silhouette of an owl to the size and scale you'd like using a pen or marker

Attach Feathers and Add Tack Detail

Once paint has fully dried, use scissors to cut approximately 25 leaf-shaped feathers for each owl from black vinyl. Attach them in layers, starting at the bottom, using a staple gun (Image 1). As a decorative detail, add a row of stainless steel tacks (rather than staples) along the top row of feathers (Image 2).

Attaching Owl's Feathers

After the paint is dry, cut approximately 25 leaf-shaped feathers for each own from black vinyl. Layer them along each side of the owl silhouette, attaching them with staple gun.

Add Tacks for Decoration

Add Eyes and Nose

Position washers to act as eyes; secure them with picture nails tacked in around the washer's edge (Image 1). Cut a long triangle for the nose from vinyl then attach it between eyes with picture nails (Image 2).

Make Owl Eyes

Position washers along face area of owl silhouette. Once in place, attach with picture nails around the perimeter and fastened in place with hammer.

Adding the Owl Nose

Similar to the leaf shapes cut as feathers, cut an owl nose from vinyl using scissors, creating a perfectly straight line at the top rather than a symmetrically-shaped leaf. Attach centered between washer eyes using hammer and picture nails.

Attach Owls to Banisters

Haunting Owls Sitting on Banister

Dress up your banister with DIY owls. Trace owl silhouettes onto pressure-treated plywood, then cut them out with a jigsaw. Sand the surface, then paint each owl, front and back, with flat black paint. Add eyes with two-inch washers fastened with picture nails and staple on leaf-shaped pieces of vinyl fabric to create feathered wings. Attach basic plumbing straps to each owl's back then tighten the straps around the bannister to keep your owls on All Hallow's Eve neighborhood watch.